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Newswise — (Elk Grove Village, Illinois – Feb. 24, 2014) The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) today released a list of specific tests or procedures that are commonly ordered but not always necessary in occupational and environmental medicine as part of Choosing Wisely®, an initiative of the ABIM Foundation. The list identifies five targeted, evidence-based recommendations that can support conversations between patients and physicians about what care is really needed.

ACOEM’s list identified the following five recommendations:

• Don’t prescribe opioids for treatment of chronic or acute pain for workers who perform safety-sensitive jobs such as operating motor vehicles, forklifts, cranes, or other heavy equipment.• Don’t initially obtain x-rays for injured workers with acute non-specific low back pain.• Don’t order low back x-rays as part of a routine pre-placement medical examination.• Don’t routinely order x-ray for diagnosis of plantar fasciitis/heel pain in employees who stand or walk at work.• Don’t routinely order sleep studies (polysomnogram) to screen for/diagnose sleep disorders in workers suffering from chronic fatigue/insomnia.

“ACOEM is pleased to join this national effort, which is aimed at improving health care and fostering better communications between physicians and their patients related to treatment options,” said ACOEM President Ron Loeppke, MD, MPH. “We believe it is critically important to engage our patients with work-related injuries or illnesses in conversations about what care is most necessary and beneficial for their health. These recommendations will help start important conversations about treatment options in occupational and environmental medicine.”

The ACOEM Choosing Wisely list was developed after months of careful consideration and review, using the most current evidence about management and treatment options. ACOEM routinely develops evidence-based clinical practice guidelines to assist physicians improve or restore the health of those workers who incur occupationally related illnesses or injuries. ACOEM’s Practice Guidelines, developed by expert panels, are the gold standard in effective treatment of occupational injuries and illnesses and are the only evidence-based guidelines that focus on returning employees to work within 90 days of an injury or illness.

In addition, the College promotes the high-quality practice of occupational and environmental medicine (OEM) through the publication, via the scientific peer-reviewed Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, of position statements and guidance documents relevant to the field.

ACOEM’s five recommendations were selected from the Practice Guidelines and the ACOEM position paper on fatigue risk-management in the workplace for the Choosing Wisely initiative. The position paper and the methodology for the development of the Practice Guidelines are available at www.acoem.org.

According to a report from the Institute of Medicine, up to 30 percent of health care spending is duplicative or unnecessary. Evidence shows that certain tests and medical procedures can actually cause harm when used unnecessarily – while driving up costs in the health care system. The ABIM Foundation and Consumer Reports launched Choosing Wisely in April 2012 with nine medical specialty societies. To date, more than 80 national and state medical specialty societies, regional health collaboratives and consumer partners have joined the conversations about appropriate care.

With the release of these new lists, the campaign will have covered more than 250 tests and procedures that participating organizations say are overused and inappropriate, and that physicians and patients should discuss.

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About ACOEMThe American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM) represents more than 4,000 physicians specializing in occupational and environmental medicine. Founded in 1916, ACOEM is the nation’s largest medical society dedicated to promoting the health of workers through preventive medicine, clinical care, disability management, research, and education. For more information, visit www.acoem.org.

About the ABIM FoundationThe mission of the ABIM Foundation is to advance medical professionalism to improve the health care system. We achieve this by collaborating with physicians and physician leaders, medical trainees, health care delivery systems, payers, policy makers, consumer organizations and patients to foster a shared understanding of professionalism and how they can adopt the tenets of professionalism in practice. To learn more about the ABIM Foundation, visit www.abimfoundation.org, read our blog blog.abimfoundation.org, connect with us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter.

About Choosing Wisely®First announced in December 2011, Choosing Wisely® is part of a multi-year effort led by the ABIM Foundation to support and engage physicians in being better stewards of finite health care resources. Participating specialty societies are working with the ABIM Foundation and Consumer Reports to share the lists widely with their members and convene discussions about the physician’s role in helping patients make wise choices. Learn more at www.ChoosingWisely.org.